It has been numerous months since Tiffany was last shocked to her core by anything. Until now. She has just been utterly shocked—something that she has been trained to be resilient against. The problem lies in the form of Taeyeon’s attack. A punch she would have expected, or a swift kick. Even the bite earlier hadn’t shocked her. But a kiss. She was not expecting a kiss. Or if she were to be more specific, it would be better to say she had not expected a kiss that felt this good. It is the kind of kiss that digs deep and unearths desires that have been suppressed for too long.

Coming back to her senses a second later, Tiffany pushes Taeyeon off and sits up, breathing hard. “You’re sick.”

Taeyeon pulls herself up too, leaning against the headrest and grinning. “I’m sick?”

“Would you have done that to your enemy?”

Taeyeon shrugs. “It depends on how attractive they are.”

Tiffany snorts. “Thanks for the compliment,” she says dryly.

“Since we’re on the topic of enemies, would you have kissed your enemy back too?”

The cheek of this woman. “It depends on how good the kiss is.”

Taeyeon laughs out loud and plasters on a smug grin as she says, “Thanks for the compliment.”

“You still failed your test though.”

Taeyeon’s laughter dies instantly. “What test.”

“This.”

“How does this even qualify as a test? Bull.”

Ignoring Taeyeon’s protest, Tiffany continues dishing out the bad news. “Since you failed the test, your physical combat training will continue. She pads across the room, opens a drawer and fishes out Taeyeon’s passport. “This time, it will be a four-day trip to Thailand. Remember to pack a bikini for the beach.”

“What if I refuse.”

Tiffany pauses by the door and turns, wearing a smile that is more hostile than friendly. “Don’t forget the predicament you and your friends are in. I’ll be waiting in the hall.”

“Thailand.” Taeyeon rolls her eyes as she throws in a bikini into her luggage. If there were any surveillance on her, wouldn’t they be suspicious of her sudden spate of frequent travelling? Then again, she had done this before, jet setting to nearby countries every other weekend just for fun. In fact, come to think of it, she had done this a few times with Yuri and sometimes with Summer and Sunny too. Yoona joins their trips but that doesn’t happen as often. “Argh.”

—

Much to Taeyeon’s dismay, instead of Tiffany, Seo is assigned to be her trainer for her four-day ‘Thailand trip’. So for the next few days, she spends much of her time in a hazy mess of pain and muscle aches as Seo pushes her to her limit, and then some.

“ing Tiffany,” she mutters to herself after one particularly torturous stretching exercise. “Where the are you.”

—

Where is Tiffany?

Far away from S.N.S.D.’s Hidden Quarters (HQ), Tiffany is busy setting up a security surveillance room in one of the most luxurious apartments in Leous. Rented by one of Tiffany’s many identities, the service apartment is located in the perfect place with a great angle for a clear view of the office tower of Elgoog. Or more specifically, a clear view into the office of one of the men they are after—Daniel.

Agent Amber enters the dining room where Tiffany is plugging in several ICEs into the network. “The bedrooms are ready, Tiff.”

“Great, thanks.”

“And er, Tiff?”

“Yes?”

“I kinda saw what happened with Taeyeon the day before.”

Tiffany barely reacts, continuing to plug in the last of the ICEs. “And?”

“And I wanna say it’s okay if you like her.”

“Who says I like her.”

“I’m not saying you like you. I’m just saying it’s okay if you like her.”

“What did you see exactly.”

Agent Amber clears . “Well, to be honest, I kinda saw everything.”

Tiffany doesn’t miss a beat as she reaches into the toolkit for an adaptor. “So you’re basing your opinion on that?”

“Er, yeah. I mean, she kissed you and you kissed her back.”

“There was no kissing back.”

“Uh uh. I’m quite certain there was. You kissed her back and the kiss lasted 1.839 seconds.”

Tiffany slams her palm on the table. “You timed it?” she asked, the incredulity overflowing.

“Yes, I timed it.”

“I don’t know if I should praise you paying close attention to details or smack you for the same reason.”

“Do you like her?”

“This is a job. I’m just doing my job.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with on-the-job attraction. This isn’t the typical office job. And you’re not the type who will let it affect your work.”

“Agent Amber, shut up.”

“You know, come to think of it,” Agent Amber continues musing, taking no heed of Tiffany’s warning tone, “you’re the one who assigned the girls to us and you assigned Taeyeon to yourself. Did you start to like her after doing the surveillance on the girls?”

“Agent Amber, I’m warning you. Shut. Up.”

—

Meanwhile, back at the S.N.S.D. HQ, Seo is briefing Summer and Yoona about their mission for the evening.

“Nicholas will be dining at Parejo this evening. It is a business dinner and his business associate is Choi Minho.”

Summer’s eyes widen in surprise. “My cousin?”

Seo smiles and nods. “Your mission is to get yourself invited to the table and join them for dinner. Yoona will be with you. It is important for Nicholas to be impressed by your credentials. Especially Yoona.”

“So I will be the bridge between Nicholas and his secretary,” says Yoona with understanding.

“Exactly. This link is crucial. We will be milking this association for all it’s worth in the near future.”

“No problem,” says Summer with a confident grin. “My cousin is in the palm of my hands. It’ll be easy enough to join them for dinner.”

“Good. Just be yourself. Summer Choi the daughter of a construction tycoon and Im Yoona, daughter of the food and beverage tycoon. Your real identities are the best fronts for the job.”

“And that’s why you chose us,” says Yoona.

Seo’s smile widens. “Your intelligence makes you all the more beautiful.” Holding the door open, she gestures for them to leave. “Take your time to prepare. I’m sure you know what to do.”

—